OK, to make my point regarding 22 centerfire�s for deer we have to look at who is going to be using them. The way I see it, we have two totally different types of hunters here. In my opinion, the larger group consists mostly of beginning shooters who are afraid of recoil. They mostly go to 243�s but some use 22�s � mostly 223�s as a cure for flinching. Neither cartridge has an excess of power and both require shot placement to make up for it. Yet, these beginning hunters are rarely good shots nor do they have enough experience to know when to pass up a bad shot under pressure. See the conflict there? Minimal cartridges requiring perfect shot placement in the hands of the poorest shots in the woods. A 22 centerfire is simply a bad fit for this type hunter. Yes, it is better for a beginner to choose a light recoiling cartridge that they can learn to shoot well rather than trying to compensate for poor marksmanship with a magnum. BUT, you don�t need to go to either extreme. Moderation is the more reasonable path here - there are a lot of great deer cartridges such as the 6.5x55, 260Rem, 7x57, 7mm-08, 30-30, 7.62x39 and so on. There are others in this general category that will give much more predictable/consistent terminal performance than a 22 centerfire.
Regarding dealing with recoil and learning to shoot, the best thing a beginning hunter can do is get a 22 rimfire and practice a lot shooting offhand rather than always using sandbags. A steel gong target gives instant feedback when you score a hit and keeps it interesting for kids or somebody new to shooting.
Personally, I am NOT a fan of the 24's either as I have a 6mm Remington that I have never taken deer hunting. It's just too small for me but step up to the 6.5mm's and small 7mm's and you have some great cartridges for beginners. Obviously, I like the 25�s as my �Handle� indicates but even with them, I stay clear of the light for caliber bullets to avoid grenading a bullet with close shots. As with any caliber though as you go to the slower 25�s (250 Savage, 257 Roberts) the need for controlled expansion bullets goes down.
All right, I've talked about beginning hunters - now what about experienced hunters who use 22 centerfires. I am very aware of the "struck by lightning" kills these guns can give. I've shot a lot of groundhogs with the 22-250, 220 Swift and 22CHeetah. A few coyotes too. A 50gr Sierra Blitz out of the CHeetah at 4080fps explodes inside a groundhog and they never even know what hit them. I practically never got an exit hole with these guns on groundhogs. I'm sure it would do the same thing to a deer but what happens when there is a twig between you and the deer that you don't see? What about if that twig is just a few inches from the deer? You get a spray of shrapnel blowing into the deer's side that leaves a horrible surface wound but doesn't penetrate. I know there are hunting bullets made for 22's now that are controlled expansion and that the 223 is not pushing as high velocity as the cartridges I named above which lessens the chance of bullet blow up but the fact remains that these tiny bullets are not nearly as reliable to penetrate straight and deep as a larger bullet. Even for an experienced hunter and shooter, I just can�t see risking a badly wounded deer using a groundhog gun to deer hunt.
